Northport boy’s lacrosse advances to final, rematch with Half Hollow Hills for title
By Steven Zaitz
Senior attackman Jack Deliberti scored six times to lead Northport boys lacrosse to victory over Huntington in the Suffolk County Division I semi-finals on May 27. The final score was 17-9.
The Tigers, seeded second in Suffolk, used a big third quarter, outscoring the Blue Devils 5-2 and open up a 12-6 lead going into the fourth quarter. Northport goalkeeper Gavin Stabile made several sparkling saves, especially in the second half, to hold off Huntington who had 22 shots on goal. Stabile made 13 saves.
Northport attackman Gavin O’Brien had three goals and four assists and Greyson Cabrera and Logan Cash each had six total points for Northport. Tommy Kline and Jack Kamenstein had two goals apiece for third-seeded Huntington, as Blue Devils goalie Will Fallon made nine saves.
Northport will now get an opportunity to avenge last year’s heartbreaking 9-8 loss to Half Hollow Hill in the Suffolk County final. Hills’ record is a perfect 18-0 this year. Northport is 16-2, with their only conference loss coming at the hands of Hills, 16-14, back on April 30. Huntington ends their year at 14-4.
Hills is led by Anthony Raio, who broke the all-time individual goal-scoring record on Tuesday in a 20-9 victory vs. Smithtown East in the other semi-final game. Raio, a senior, scored six times and now has 271 goals in his career, breaking the record held by Matt Triolo, who is currently a senior at John Glenn High School in the Elwood School District.
The championship game will be played this Saturday, May 31 at East Islip Middle School.
— All photos by Steve Zaitz